The 90-year-old wrote a moving essay
about the tragic loss of his wife Clare Lindgren to leukemia in 1996, and
beginning a new chapter of his life with Matthew Charlton - who is 50 years his
junior.
They married in 1948 and went on to have three children together. She even gave up her job to become his all-out campaigner, his 'best critic' and 'best friend'.
They married in 1948 and went on to have three children together. She even gave up her job to become his all-out campaigner, his 'best critic' and 'best friend'.
Wofford, a Pennsylvania senator from
1991 to 1995 and an adviser to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., met his
wife Clare while serving in the U.S. Air Force during the Second World War
'Our romance and
adventure continued for five decades,' Wofford wrote.
Sadly, that adventure came to an end on January 3, 1996 when Clare died from acute leukemia. At the age of 70, Wofford was left heartbroken and sure he would 'never again feel the kind of love Clare and I shared'. But he was wrong. Five years later, he met Matthew by chance while swimming off a beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And despite being decades apart in age, he said they instantly 'clicked.' The couple fell in love and Wofford, said he did not label himself as 'gay' or 'straight', he was simply happy to have found love for a second time. He said that he feels 'lucky' to be in an era when marriage 'is not based on anyone’s sexual nature, choices or dreams. It is based on love.
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